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December 6, 1974 ~ 33 Years later

December – When December’s snows fall fast, marry and your love will last.

Here are 33 things about Dear and Myself since we’ve been married…

1. Dear was 21 and I was 23 when we got married.

2. My engagement ring was an opal ring. We had matching wedding bands. When I was pregnant with our third (Katie) Dear bought me my first diamond ring.

3. We honeymooned up the coast of California .

4. Our first home was a 1 bedroom apartment in West Los Angeles.

5. We bought our first house in Huntington Beach in 1975 for $45,000. We lived in Huntington Beach until 1984.

6. In 1977 we took a road-trip to visit extended family and to see some sights. We first stopped in Denver to see Dear’s mothers side of the family. Then we went to Peoria, Illinois to meet Dear’s fathers side of the family. We headed north to the Detroit area. We took a ferry to Canada and headed to Toronto where we found my china from England and added to my set so we would have 12 place settings. Then we headed to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Fun carefree times in a little yellow 1976 Honda Civic.

7. We have three children. Josh was born on Friday, January 19, 1979. Dan was born on Friday, January 16, 1981. Katie was born on Friday, December 27, 1985. (Katie came early she was due in January also!) “Friday’s child is loving and giving”

8. Dear’s professions while we’ve been married were, a Painting Contractor, a Conveyorman at Cal-Mat, A Loader/Operator at Cal-Mat, A hospital Pharmacist, Professional Services at a Biotech company, Medical Information at a Biotech Company.

9. My professions since we’ve been married were, a File Clerk, an Elementary School Teacher, a SAHM, a Playground Teacher, House Cleaning business, Substitute Teacher, SAHM, and now I’m a SAH wife…

10. Churches we attended the last 33 years earliest to present: Grace Community Church in Panorama City, Huntington Beach Evangelical Free Church, Bible Fellowship Church in Ventura, Sunrise Christian Fellowship in Seattle, and Evangelical Free Church Conejo Valley.

11. We took our first 2 camping trips with our boys and some of their cousins before Katie was born. We camped at Refugio State Beach, north of Santa Barbara. Fun times in a tent in 1983 and 1984!

12. While living in Ventura we met our good buddies the Spiros who are like family to us. Dr. Spiro delivered our daughter Katie in Ventura while he was doing his residency. Their 3 daughters and our 3 kids got along well and are still great friends. After the residency they moved to Washington where Dave joined a family practice. When we moved to Washington for Pharmacy school they adopted us into their family since we were so far from ours. We share many holidays together.

13. Dear’s Father Rex died in 1985 a couple months before our daughter Katie was born.

14. In 1986 we went on a bicycle touring trip in the Wine Country with our friends Dave and Jody and we met our dear friends Bob and Jan for the first time on this trip. (Geyserville to Mendocino, down the coast to Gualala and inland to Monte Rio then back to Geiserville) Oh the tales we can tell. We did not have a support vehicle.

15. We moved to the state of Washington in 1988 so that Dear could attend the University of Washington and then apply to Pharmacy School there.

16. While Dear attended the University of Washington the Husky football team had some glory years and we were able to get student season tickets along with tickets to a Rose Bowl game where the Huskies beat Michigan in 1992.

17. While in Washington Dear’s mother Verna lived with us for 9 years.

18. Our first home in Washington was a 4600 square foot home where we finished a 650 square foot self contained apartment in the daylight basement for Dear’s mother.

19. After moving to Washington in 1988 we made several road trips to California. I was tempted to write a book about driving I-5 from border to border.

20. I started a home cleaning business while Dear was in school full-time. I’ve cleaned a lot of toilets!

21. In 1994 we took the family to Los Angeles and San Jose to experience the World Cup. This was a wonderful experience especially for Josh and Dan (and ELLEN, too)

22. In 1996 we gave our home back to the bank when a serious landslide came right to our foundation and threatened the stability of the home. The costs for shoring up and saving the home ended up being more than we could ever afford. We lost all of our California equity and started over by first renting homes till we were able to purchase a home again. Moving yearly with all of our stuff and all of my MIL’s stuff was quite the challenge.

23. Dear’s Mother Verna died in 1997.

24. One of our memorable family trips was to Hawaii in 1997 after Josh graduated from high school.

25. We rented 3 different homes in 3 years after giving our house back to the bank. We bought our 3rd rental house when they tried to sell it out from under us after only being in the house for a month. We couldn’t face the trauma of moving all our stuff again in such a short time. We didn’t think a bank would give us a loan after we had given a house back to the bank. God intervened for us and the bank did not fault us in their records for defaulting on our loan.

26. Our son Josh was married to Laura on August 25, 2001. We had some wonderful days celebrating with family and friends.

27. Dear and I have had some great trips since our kids have become adults. Our favorites are our trips to London in 2003, Great Britain with our daughter in 2004 and a Walking tour of Great Britain with our best friends in 2006.

28. We took a few trips to Chicago area before and during our daughter Katie’s 3 semesters at Wheaton College.

30. I’m the sports fan in the family and Dear is gracious to put up with me since he is not a big fan of watching sports.

31. Dear is the handiest guy to have around. He has always tackled any hard job around the house and completed it well. He’s an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a mechanic, a painter. He’s helped other people out with their projects, too.

32. Dear is a learner and is blessed with lots of knowledge. He is a very wise man and he’s a great teacher.

33. We made a pact when we got married that whoever decided to make the stupid choice to leave, the other of us would shoot them in the back with our 357 Magnum as they walked out the door! We always said to each other and to others that death would be easier to deal with than divorce. Harsh, yes, but after 33 years neither of us has ever thought about walking away from this marriage.

Whew! That wasn’t easy. Thank you Lord for 33 years of mercy and grace in our marriage. And thank you for so many blessings we have received all from your hand. We are especially thankful for a family that loves you and loves us and for dear friends who do the same.

Photobucket has blacked out all my photos I was storing on their site and they are holding them hostage. I am working on updating my more than 4000 posts.

That was wonderful! I love it that your kids were all born on a Friday around the same time of the year. My kids were all born in June/July! I remember when the Huskies beat the Wolverines. My parents and brothers lived in Washington and I lived in Michigan!! May you enjoy many more Anniversaries!

What a wonderful tribute to the love and life God has blessed you & Dear with. You have a rich heritage and I am beyond grateful to be a part. I love you both very much. Praying for many many more years of love and life to experience together. Thank you for representing a faithful, God-centered, honoring, positive example of marriage. Love you.

Mrs. Dear. . ..you are a blessed woman. I felt teary reading your post above and below. It struck me that your life has had it’s challenges . .at least financially and yet your smile is genuine and I imagine it always has been.

God is so good . .all the time. Congratulations on 33 years of marriage.

Things we have in common:
1. I have the same china pattern you have… mine was a legacy from a grandmother.
2. We moved to WA so a family member could attend college… however I was 3.5 years old at the time. Plus, we did “the other” school there.
3. We were also in Hawaii in 1997… a gift from my folks…
4. We had foundation problems… but, we couldn’t afford to leave the house. Took us $30,000 to complete the fixes. OUCH!
5. We honeymooned in CA, some on the coast, some in the mountains….
6. We also have family in Denver, and in IL, just not Peoria.

I could go on. Just odd… oh, and our firstborn is a Josh also.

Of course, the two biggest things are that we both love the Lord and we both call our dear husbands “Dear.”

Sounds like you have had an incredible life!
Blessings, happy day, and many more such blessed and happy years!
Kim

Congratulations you two! What a great way to “walk through the years” of your marriage! Love it! Can I give you a hard time for getting married the same year I was born? 🙂 Glad I can call you a friend. Love, Christa

Christa, I’m thrilled that someone as young as you would call me your friend! 🙂

I love how you have loved each other and us (the kids).
I love how Dad had the cahones to change careers and make a move. (For the record I am so glad we moved to WA for many reasons/the only downside is the distance from extended fam)
I love how Mom you were entrepreneurial and made ends meet to “make it work” during those re-college years in WA.
I love how you guys were wise enough, and trusted the Lord enough, to walk away from 21 years of equity. You chose not to open a law suit or be bitter when you could have been.
Mom, I love how you loved my wife when she wasn’t my wife yet. You sent her cards, letters, and packages in college when it mattered most.
Dad, I loved hangin with you on Monday nights in Edmonds with the guys. I grew a lot from that experience and I love how your brain works.
May the Lord Bless you both in the next 33 years!

Congrats on 33 years Ellen (& “Dear” too!) I loved reading through the memories and seeing the pictures. It makes me happy to know that I am about to embark on my own journey of married life, and Aaron & I have so many wonderful examples of loving marriages to follow. Here’s to many more years of love and happiness!